Apple drops Bing search in Siri and Spotlight in favour of Google

Bing is no longer the default search service used by Siri on iOS and Spotlight in macOS. Apple has moved to Google search as the go-to service.

"Switching to Google as the web search provider for Siri, Search within iOS and Spotlight on Mac will allow these services to have a consistent web search experience with the default in Safari,” Apple told TechCrunch in a statement.

This means that if Siri does not have the answer to a user's query, then the system with just pull up Google results. 

Investment firm Bernstein estimates Google currently pays Apple around $3bn for this deal, based on the fact Google paid around $1bn for the same deal in 2014 according to The Telegraph.

Source: TechCrunch

Microsoft's Bing uses algorithms to predict winners of upcoming World Cup matches

With the FIFA World Cup kicking off in Brazil and global fascination for 'The Beautiful Game' reaching fever pitch, various tech companies are showcasing their  technologies in the service of sport. Microsoft's Bing is adding a 'predictions' feature to its search. This puts the computational power of Bing to use and determines schedules, scores and even who is likely to win a match. 

“For the tournament, our models evaluate the strength of each team through a variety of factors such as previous win/loss/tie record in qualification matches and other international competitions and margin of victory in these contests, adjusted for location since home field advantage is a known bias,” said Microsoft.

Microsoft updates Bing Windows Phone Apps to sync with Windows 8

Microsoft has finally released an update for Bing Windows Phone apps that allows syncing with Windows 8. Ubergizmo cites the example of carrying over a stock watch list from the Finance app on your Windows Phone to Windows 8 without needing to set it up again.

The tech giant also took three Bing apps on Windows Phone out of beta: Food & Drink, Travel, and Health & Fitness. Microsoft also released updates for Bing News, Finance, Sports, and Weather.

Bing and RoboCop reimagine the future of search

With the RoboCop remake coming out soon, Sony Pictures partnered with Microsoft to develop a concept of what search could look like in the future. The team in charge of Microsoft’s Bing search engine didn’t want to put out an unbelievable 3D holographic kind of concept. Instead, they wanted the concept to be based on innovations that are just about to crop up and are “very much grounded in today’s reality.”  They showed 3D displays with key data in front and voice recognition like Bing on Windows Phone and Xbox. You can find out more information about the collaboration here.